Method and apparatus for treating yarns



Feb. 16, 1954 w, KEEN 2,669,001

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING YARNS Filed Sept. 29, 1949 INVENTOR WILLIAM ROLLIN KEEN w az Patented Feb. 16, 1954 UNITED. sures ear NT iO'FFI'CE 1 mention *riatesjtoa*iarecess; bf "preparin yarns for fabrics especially "pile fabrics and to apparatus for carrying out the process in 'a simple and practical "manner. More particularly the invention is dire'cted'to' the forming of configura tions'inand the setting of continuous strands of nylon yarn by the progressive app-lication o'f distortin'g forces'an'd heat followed by a subsequent heatti'eatment. Thedistorting force may beand preferably without high pressure 'suchas would nattenme fibers or strands beingtre'ated, By the present improvements there may be produced yarns which havean all over or localiz'e'd'crimp'ed or purled effect.

"'The'inventioh isaliapte'd t the production'df nylo'n'iiphol'ste'ry orfiobr covering pileyarnsand is useful'for producing jyarns for other fabrics including 'fl'a't fabrics.

+3 (ches -1 2) The novel process if desireate carried 4 dutwconcurrently with a we'aving'pro'c'e'ss, butis suitable for high speed mass production 'u'seand. accordingly it is preferred that a single apparatus "'in'nbe'i 6f looms. x

"AEE ding to the invntibn a supply of hyl'dfi yarns ay be drawn 'from'a source such-asaspcol in 'sheetformand'passes between formmemters sueh as intermeshing sprocket dr gearlike members preferably arranged so'a's' not to pinch theyarn's to an "extent to flatten indi nasal fibersof the yarn. The fun'cti'onof these gear-like members is "to "partially 'set or facilitate setting offjthe yarn ja's'by "heat whilje in the e'formed' arr- 1 .partially set yams-ars d vahc'd tq apron" and ja-heating "devic'ewhich i sets-tnerei axe yarns by dry heat; steam or moist stea fheat whereupon the yarn ma be cooled and advanced into 'a pile'fabric or other loom or it'may be rebeamed after cooling or otherwise packaged as desired. While synthetic l'ih'ea'i 'polyamide yarns may be preheated to "some "extent, the 'tem p'era'ture at the deforming members will preferably be "higher than that previously attained by the incoming yarns. The setting temperature will, of course, be less than required to bringfib'ersto the melting point of the particular fibers in the synthetic yarn. It will be noted, however, that where the heat treatment-time is short that-the heating unit will usually have a temperature in excess of that actually attained by the'fi'bers in theya'rn. I V w 'T he 'proces'smay be effected fwith or without use of steam or moisture, the use of'whieh do 'wever 1')rbvidesomeinsuranceagainst'aii' yeirowiii'gat mghertemperawres. 'rnepraesssea '2 yarn'isnot hardened by my process, but takes "on increased fcrushproofing proportions and becomes more resilient. It is very suitable for 1 the -'pile portion of out or uncut pile fabrics as well as producing unusual effects in flat fabrics, all without harshening of the products. A Anobj'ect of invention is to provide a deformed neare t strand of "synthetic fibers such as nylon. Another object is to provide a process and an apparatus for heat setting deformed nylon and similar "untreated yarns.

Another object is to provide -a process in "which nylon in the form of a sheet is deformed and partially set and subsequently mor'e'per'manently set.

Another object is to provide a continuous.

method of curling or crimping a supply of nylon yarns in side by 'side or sheet form.

v Another object is to provide a crimping apparatus which maybe conveniently set up for operatioh.

Another object is to provide an intermittently erim'ped nylon yarn which has been set at high temperatures.

These and other objects will be manifest from the'following description, claims and drawing in which: Y

Figure '1 'is' a diagrammatic side elevational View of an a paratus suitable for carrying out the invention.

Figure 2 is a similar View of a modification.

l igure '3 shows an intermittently crimped yarn ha "ng crimp'ed portions 53 and straight por-' tiers s4.

In'Figuie 'l'a 'sourceof supply of nylon yarns 9 is carried 'on beam 'or spool Hi. The yarn forms a sheetfll of'anydesir'e'd number of yarns. A pair of feed rolls l2 advance the yarns fromthe beam'which may be rotated "by the'feed rolls or separately driven in a convenient manner.

'Gea'rsr'l3, I4, 1'5 and It form a cluster, gear 13 being connected to a source of power (not shown) Gear lll'is an idler introduced so that gears l5 and ilfiwill'bedriven at the same rate when the'deforming members H and it on the gearsh'afts 29, 21 "'for'gears'lt'a and it are intermeshing. Preferably the intermeshing members do not operate as gears,'"but are driven members which Contact, deform'and heat the yarns to produce a partial setting "without excessively squeezing the yarns. enables deformation of the strands from a straight line without material injury to the heated fibers.

,Thelength of time that the strands'a're deformeabymembers l1 and F8 is usually "too short 'm-a- "permanent Setting? in'oi'der toinbiase the output I prefer to merely deform and partially set the strands while they are between the intermeshing members I! and I8. These members may have strand contacting portions of various sizes and shapes, all of which will be referred to as teeth I9 irrespective of their exact shape. The teeth l9 may be conveniently heated as by resistance heating units (not shown) or by high frequency induction units or the like.

The shaft 20 is fixed, whereas shaft 2| is mounted at one end on arm 22 of bellcrank 23 for pivotal movement about shaft 24 on which gear [3 is mounted. A follower 25 on bellcrank 23 engages cam 26 on shaft 21. A clutch 28 may cut quick acting cam 26 into and out of rotating operation. The result is that when cam 26 is in the position shown in Figure 1 and not .rotating. the heated members I! and I8 will continuously crimp and partially set yarn moving through. When the clutch 26 is cut in the cam will rotate and quickly separate the teeth of deforming members H and I8. Simultaneously the gear IE will move along gear i3 and the sheet II will be advanced through the device without being crimped. When member I? and gear it are returned to intermeshing position, they will be in synchronism as before. It will thus be seen that the devices may produce continuously or intermittently crimped yarns with sharply defined zones.

After crimping the sheet ll moves partly by gravity to apreferably inclined apron 30 of material resistant to the effects of heat such as metal or specially prepared fabric which withstands high temperatures. Coated cotton fabrics known per se may be used. The apron 30 passes about cylinders 3| and 32 and may be driven as by a nip formed by cylinders 33 and 3|.

The object of the apron 30 being inclined is to maintain as far as possible the initial deformation of the relaxed strands. The final setting may be by steam or dry heat or combination of both.

In Figure l moisture in the form of steam or a fine spray of water may be introduced through conduit 34 on to the fibers prior to their entering heating unit 35 for the final setting at a temperature usually as high or higher than the partial setting. Moisture may be added and may be heated to steam in the unit or it may be dispensed with in some cases.

The final set yarns or strands are advanced to a second inclined apron 36 mounted on and driven by cylinders 31, 38 and 39 as shown. They are cooled as by a water spray or cool air current from conduit 42 so as to be prepared for removal by rolls 4%, 4i and used or packaged as desired.

The melting point of much of the commercially available nylon is in the neighborhood of 480 F.

and tackiness or sticking occurs at about 360 F. The setting properties of nylon are not fully understood, the factor in or character of the fiber which gives nylon some of its setting properties being sometimes referred to as element X. According to the present improvement, it is feasible to deform and set yarn at high temperatures including those well into the range where sticking occurs. Temperatures from 300 F. to 440 F. are preferred because at these temperatures the time of contact may be quite short and still produce a partial setting. Such stickiness as may be induced during processing does not usually appear to cause the fibers to adhere to each other after cooling.

It should also be noted that in intermittently deformed yarns, Figure 3, the twist in straight portions as well as in the deformed portion may be set. Portions not deformed may be subjected to setting heat either as the yarns pass freely between the crimping cylinders I! and [8 or subsequently as described.

If the deforming apparatus and control cam 26 is operating slowly a permanently set crimp may be introduced and the straight portions remain unheated at this stage of the process. These seemingly inconsistent results are effected by choice of setting temperatures used, the speed of the apparatus and the distance of the deforming rolls from one another or the strand.

Broadly then the crimping rolls Figure 1 are sources of heat which by quick movement into and out of setting position and with or without trand pressure may give 'a variety of results.

A twisted synthetic yarn having alternate straight and deformed heat set portions is believed to be distinctly new and will produce different effects in fabrics than the intermittently set prior art yarns such as mohair.

. In Figure 2 a beam 5!} having a supply of twisted nylon yarns similar to 9 is rotatable and the yarns advanced by cylinders El, 52 as before. The yarns may be wet by a spray through 53.

After leaving cylinders 51, 52 the yarns pass about rods 54 which may vary in number and be of the same or gradually decreasing diameters as shown. The rods are all driven in the same direction and the yarns contact approximately the entire periphery of each rod. Each strand passes entirely around the first rod and then over to and about the second rod and so on. The rods 54 are quite small usually varying in size from inch diameter downward and may be of such material as may be maintained at a constant temperature in a manner known per se. Alternate rods 54 may be driven from gears (not shown) on each side so all have the same direction of rotation as will be understood.

As in Figure 1, after partial setting, the yarns may be sprayed or not at 55 prior to entering heat chamber 56 on apron assembly 51 for final setting. The yarn is then advanced and sprayed or otherwise cooled before strong tensions are applied. The apron 58 on rolls 59, driven by 59 and M are preferably slightly inclined to better maintain control of the strands. Water. or cool air may be introduced at E2.

The two illustrated embodiments depict continuous processing and are preferred because of the uniformity of results obtainable. It is, however, practical to deposit the partially set de formed yarns in a can or other supporting container without tension and transfer the container to an autoclave or steam chest to complete the setting of the yarns under controlled conditions of dry heat or steam pressure and temperature. The container support may cause additional deformations because of the packing or weight of the strands on each other. After final heat setting the strands or yarns will be cooled. The cooling here and in the continuous process embodiments may be by removal from the high temperature zone and some delay prior to use or packaging.

Referring again to Figure 1 it will be noted that both aprons are preferably inclined and that apron 30 is positioned close to the crimping mechanism to minimize the effect of the yarns oWn weight. The mechanism may be so rearranged that the strand is received by the support,

almost immediately after the strand leaves a crimping member.

The apparatus of Figure 2 may also be arranged for downward flow of the processed strands if desired.

The action of pattern cam 26 and associated parts aside from their operating functions, facilitates the setting up of the device for operation by allowing free ends of a supply to be readily introduced. This, together with the gravity feed, provides advantage with respect to entanglement of separate yarns which is a substantial practical problem in the handling of conventional nylon yarns. By the present improvement proper spacing can readily be maintained in the setting up operation with out the use of stiffening materials, resins, size or the like. In both the continuous and container support described embodiments the strands are finally set while in a nearly tensionless condition. The tension caused by the weight of short lengths of the yarn is overcome by the partial setting.

Having described my invention in connection with preferred embodiments, but not wishing to be expressly limited thereto, I claim:

1. In a process for deforming a twisted nylon ply yarn at intervals along its length, the steps which consist of leading the nylon yarn forwardly from a supply, passing the yarn through intermeshing driven gear-shaped members, heating the gear-shaped members to a temperature in the range from 300 F. to 440 F., intermittently disengaging and then reengaging said gear-shaped members while continuing to lead said yarn forwardly, thereby leaving deformed portions in said yarn separated by straight portions, applying heat to both the deformed and straight portions while said yarn is in motion and not under tension, thereby setting the deformed portions and the straight portions, and then cooling the yarn.

2. The invention of claim 1 further characterized by the step of supplying heat to said yarn during the periods of disengagement of the heated gear-shaped members.

3. In a process for deforming a twisted nylon ply yarn at intervals along its length, the steps which consist of leading the nylon yarn forwardly from a supply, passing the yarn through intermeshing driven gear-shaped members, heating the gear-shaped members to a temperature in the range from 300 F. to 440 F., intermittently disengaging and then reengaging said gear-shaped members while continuing to lead said yarn forwardly, thereby leaving deformed portions in said yarn separated by straight portions, transferring the deformed yarn through a support, moving the support upwardly and simultaneously applying heat to the yarn while it is supported substantially without tension and then cooling the yarn while it is in motion and. not under tension.

WILLIAM ROLLIN KEEN.

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